The present invention relates to fluid systems for communicating fluid to and from a patient to facilitate a surgical procedure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a suction adapter for connecting the drain of a fluid system to a suction source.
Various surgical procedures used to treat the human body require communicating fluid away from the body. For example, in endoscopic procedures used to treat a uterus or a knee fluid is communicated to the surgical site in order to distend the surrounding tissues so as to facilitate visualization of and access to the surgical site. An exemplary system for distending such a surgical site is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,746. The fluid communicated to the surgical site is subsequently communicated away from the surgical site through a drain tube. The fluid is typically collected for disposal and measurement in a suitable container such as a bucket as shown in FIG. 1. The collection chamber is usually open to atmospheric pressure because if the pressure in the collection chamber is higher than atmospheric pressure it will impede the flow through the drain tube. On the other hand if the pressure in the collection chamber is below atmospheric pressure, the fluid may drain away from the surgical site too quickly and reduce the distension pressure at the surgical site. However, an occasional and controlled brief reduction in the pressure in the drain tube can be helpful to momentarily increase the flow away from the surgical site to clear debris or temporarily reduce the amount of distension. The open containers previously used do not facilitate such momentary suction on the drain tube. Furthermore, the prior art open containers are easily tipped and spilled in the crowded operating room environment.
Often, in the course of a single surgical procedure, much more fluid is used than can be collected in a single collection container. In such a case it is desirable to connect additional containers to the first container. The additional containers are connected to a suction source so that they will draw fluid away from the first container thus allowing the first container to receive more fluid without overflowing.